Chapter 26 Locke
twenty-six
Locke
“Can we stay at your house?” Kam’s question played on repeat in my head.
She’d asked it quietly, and the uncertainty in her voice had gutted me.
There was no uncertainty as far as I was concerned.
I wanted them near me. The thought of having them in my space was fucking incredible.
It was a dream come true. I’d laughed, happiness welling up inside me like a rising tide, and wrapped Kam in my arms so tight, she complained she couldn’t breathe.
I hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off my face since.
I still had to pinch myself that this was my reality.
I’d expected them to be angry because of my deception; they would have been justified too.
But they hadn’t been. I think everything that had happened the day before brought what was important to them into sharp relief.
Apparently, I was a lucky enough bastard to be called one of those important people.
My belly flip-flopped, unbridled joy taking flight like a kaleidoscope of butterflies.
Not only did I get to see them without a mask on, but I’d claimed them as mine.
There were no more secrets between us. The whole world knew about us now too.
My chest-banging display may have come off a little possessive of my guy and girl, but who wouldn’t be when they were dating a couple like my boy and sweet thing?
They were far too gorgeous for me not to stake a claim on them.
Plus, those reporters were clueless. The press conference wasn’t the time for subtlety.
I didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings, so I spelled it out for them.
I bit my lip, stifling my grin as I looked across at Kam.
She was sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat, following the directions on the nav.
She made the last turn into my street, and I pointed out my house.
It wasn’t over-the-top, but it was close to the water, a calm oasis, and private—exactly what we needed for Chris to make a quick recovery.
I opened the garage, and Kam glided her car inside next to mine. I paused for a second, letting the moment sink in. They were really here. With me. Not as friends, either, but as my boyfriend and girlfriend. This was big. Absolutely huge.
“Locke, are you okay there?” Chris asked.
I laughed. “My mind is actually blown. I still can’t believe we’re really here.”
“At your house?” Kam asked, confusion lacing her tone.
“Well, yeah. This time last week, I was trying to figure out how to take off the mask. A few days ago, I’d given up hope. Now look at us.”
“Invite us inside, Locke,” Chris instructed, his voice filled with emotion.
I shook my head. “You don’t need an invitation to come here. You’re always welcome.” I didn’t think I’d ever get to share even another small moment with them, never mind something as big as this. There was no way I was leaving them under the impression that they needed to ask to come here.
I took the suitcases out of the trunk and wheeled them along, leading Chris and Kam inside.
I tried to see my place from their eyes.
It was all cool whites and grey tones, much more modern beach than homey warmth like their house was.
But the colors were calming, and I had lots of potted plants around, giving some life to the place.
“Come on through,” I invited, giving them the tour as we went. The bedrooms were at the back of the house, the spare room directly opposite mine. I hesitated and gestured through the open door.
“This is the spare room.”
“Oh, okay,” Kam murmured.
“Locke,” Chris said and waited until I raised my gaze to his. He stepped closer until we were toe to toe and I couldn’t look away. He was mesmerizing. “Do you want us to stay in there? Away from you?”
I swallowed and shook my head.
“Then show us where you sleep.”
I pointed across the corridor and breathed, “That’s our room.”
Kam walked inside, not waiting for us. Chris interlaced his fingers with mine, then walked backward, tugging me into the room.
He licked his lips, and Kam ran her fingertips down Chris’s tie, her touch tantalizing.
My cock bucked in my suit pants, desire swirling low in my belly.
Fuck me, they were sexy. Kam turned her sultry gaze on me, and I groaned, my self-control in tatters.
“I need to lie down,” Chris said, and his husky voice wrapped around me like a caress.
He tugged off his tie and dropped it to the floor, then shrugged out of his jacket.
I watched in awe as he pulled the tails of his shirt free and slowly undid each button, revealing a sliver of tattooed skin with each one.
Kam wasn’t idle either. She inched up the frilly blouse she was wearing, leaving her in a silky white cami and flowy caramel-colored pants.
A spaghetti strap fell from her shoulder, and it took everything in me to hold still and not lick my way from her shoulder to her lips and back down, dragging all her clothes down with me.
“Fuck,” I breathed and reached down to adjust the erection tenting my pants.
A sly smile tilted Chris’s lips up and when he let the shirt fall to the floor, joining the rest of his clothes.
I groaned. “You’re killin’ me. Both of you.”
“I’m just getting comfortable, out of these restrictive clothes. You know, so I can climb into your bed,” he taunted. He leaned in and nuzzled my jaw before murmuring, “Slip onto those sheets that smell like you, and rub every inch of my naked body on them.”
I whimpered. Flat out whimpered at the thought of him doing just that. There was nothing I wanted more than to see these two making love in my bed. But the team doctor had given Chris strict orders—plenty of rest and nothing that would hurt his ribs, including sex, until he was cleared.
“You should lie down with us, Locke,” Kam invited, drawing the soft charcoal comforter down. She peeled off her camisole, exposing her pert little breasts, and inched her pants down to reveal a lacy thong. My mouth was as dry as the Simpson Desert.
She was so fucking sexy.
I was about to go off like a geyser just looking at the way that strip of lace plunged between the cheeks of her gorgeous arse.
“If I get in there, I’ll be coming all over myself in thirty seconds flat.”
“Do it,” Chris challenged. “I need to watch you.”
There was nothing in the world that could have stopped me from fulfilling that need for him.
***
We’d been wrapped up in one another for a week, lazing about, getting to know one another and just spending time together.
We were doing simple things—cooking and eating dinner together, taking short walks down the beach, watching movies and playing Monopoly, of all things.
I’d introduced Chris and Kam to my family over video chat—no surprises that they loved them and started planning another visit so they could meet face to face—and the guys from the team had checked in on Chris daily, but other than that, we’d avoided other people entirely.
Chris was improving quickly. His pain was fading fast. I was ecstatic for him—the last thing I wanted was for him to be hurting—but I knew it meant that the bubble we were living in was going to pop, and fast. I wasn’t ready to let them go yet. I was greedy; I wanted more time with them.
Aside from that first evening together, where Chris and Kam watched me come all over my hand, we’d followed the doctor’s orders to a T.
No doing anything that might delay Chris’s recovery—which meant no sex—and it was killing me.
I wanted to devour them, to touch and taste every inch of their delectable bodies.
Kam and I could have, but by an unspoken agreement, we’d decided to wait. We both wanted Chris with us.
Thank fuck he was seeing the doctor today. I just hoped he was given clearance to do something.
Anything.
Having them so close and being unable to touch them was beyond torture. My dick was on a hair trigger, and I was popping wood like a fucking teenager. So was Chris, and Kam wasn’t faring too well either. But doing anything beyond lazy kisses had been too painful for Chris. Until now.
The one good thing to have come out of it was that all the waiting around had given us plenty of time to speak about what we wanted our relationship to look like.
All three of us were ready to take the next step, and we’d agreed that getting tested was it.
We had the results. Now it was up to the team doctor to give Chris the all-clear.
He was at least a week away from being able to start light training again, but sex wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
I wove through the streets of suburban San Diego to the training rink, where the team doctor’s offices were located, and parked outside the back entrance.
“Chris just messaged me to say he’ll be another minute or two. He’s just leaving the locker room,” Kam said, then slid her hand into mine while we waited.
“Think he’s been given the green light?” I asked, almost scared to know the answer.
“I really hope so,” Kam groaned. “This is torture.”
“God, yes,” I agreed. “He’s going to want to dive in head-first, though, and he’ll set himself back if he does that.”
Kam hummed her agreement. We watched as the door opened and Chris strode through. Kam eased out of the front, then slipped into the back seat so Chris could recline next to me. My car wasn’t the easiest for Chris to get in and out of, but he’d insisted.
Chris sighed happily as he settled in, taking his time to close the door and do up his seat belt.
“How’d it go, boy?” I asked when I couldn’t wait a second longer to know. My voice was like gravel, dick as hard as nails in anticipation.